RIYADH: German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit the Kingdom on Sunday for two days to discuss issues of mutual interests with the Saudi leadership, according to Ambassador Dieter W. Haller.
“She’ll meet with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to discuss bilateral issues as well as peace and security in the region,” the German envoy told Arab News on Sunday.
The envoy said that as head of the German government, Merkel conducts extensive dialogues with the Saudi leadership on various issues affecting the region such as the situation in Yemen and Syria.
The ambassador added that Merkel will also brief King Salman on the G20 summit meeting in Hamburg, Germany, in early July.
Germany holds the G20 presidency through Nov. 30 and it aims to intensify international cooperation.
In a video podcast on the German G20 presidency, Merkel said that the stability of the global economy is the top issue.
Haller added that the German chancellor’s visit will also bolster bilateral ties between Germany and Saudi Arabia since the two leaders will be discussing issues of mutual interests such as trade.
Bilateral trade between the two countries amounts to SR44 billion, according to the German-Saudi Arabian Liaison Office for Economic Affairs (GESALO), the representative of the German economy in Saudi Arabia. GESALO is the registered name for AHK Saudi Arabia.
In 2015, Germany was the third biggest trading partner of the Kingdom and its most important products exported to the Kingdom include machinery and automotive parts.
More than 700 German companies are also actively engaged in business activities in the Kingdom.
Merkel arriving for visit
Merkel arriving for visit
Saudi crown prince receives princes, officials, scholars, citizens in Eastern Region
- The audience was also attended by energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman
DAMMAM: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday received several princes, officials, scholars and a group of citizens at the Gulf Palace in Dammam, Saudi Press Agency reported.
At the beginning of the reception, they all listened to a recitation of verses from the Holy Qu’ran, SPA added.
The audience was also attended by Prince Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, governor of the Eastern Region, energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, and Prince Mishari bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Musaed.
Faia Younan serenades Ithra
- At the opening night performance, Younan sang to a full house — almost every plush red seat at the Ithra Theater was occupied
- Throughout the performance, the band surrounded the singer like a frame, with the set lights changing colors behind her
DHAHRAN: Syrian star Faia Younan graced the stage at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, Ithra, for the first of two evenings of music on Thursday.
Returning to the Ithra stage after almost a year, the singer-songwriter performed a medley of her most popular hits, some original songs and a few covers.
“Her music fuses modern arrangements, traditional instruments and lyrics based on classical literary poetry, shaping her unique musical identity,” Ithra said in a statement to Arab News.
At the opening night performance, Younan sang to a full house — almost every plush red seat at the Ithra Theater was occupied.
After her first song, the singer asked the sound team to turn on the balcony lights so she could greet the audience.
“I am so excited to be back in the Kingdom. I would like the lights to be turned on so I could capture a visual snapshot of this beautiful crowd,” she told her fans to loud applause.
Younan included the audience by asking them to clap along to certain sections and encouraging them to join in when she repeated part of a song, telling them: “Those aching to sing along can do so with me.”
Throughout the performance, the band surrounded the singer like a frame, with the set lights changing colors behind her.
Younan thanked every musician who accompanied her on stage. The band was led by pianist Rayan Habe, followed by Mohamed Ben Salha on ney, Abdul Halim Al-Khatib on qanoun, Yarub Samarait on violin, Walid Nassaer and Salman Baalbaki on percussion, and Julio Eid on bass guitar.
In an endearing moment, the heel of Younan’s shoe broke as she was belting out a lyric. But the singer completed the song without interruption, then elegantly removed her shoes and told the crowd that the accident was a blessing in disguise.
“Now, I can dance more easily to the next song, which will be Khaleeji,” she told the roaring crowd.
After singing many Arabic songs, Younan switched to Assyrian sounds, performing in one of the many ancient languages spoken in her native Syria.
The singer made history in 2015 when she became the first woman artist from the MENA region to crowdfund her debut single, “Ohebbou Yadayka.”
Younan has more than 1.3 million followers on Instagram and a huge fan base in the region.
Earlier this year, she was one of the winners of the Prince Abdullah bin Faisal Award for Arabic Poetry, in the best sung poem category, which earned her a prize of SR200,000 ($53,333).
“Mashallah, Faia managed to play a lot of her songs — and her singing live sounds a lot like the studio recording,” attendee Assiel Al-Shuail told Arab News at the end of the opening night.
The finale of Younan’s two-day show ends Friday, starting 8 p.m.
Culinary diplomacy from the heart of Alkhobar
- Grant was joined on the visit by James Sindle, US consul-general in Dhahran
- “The food has been great, super tasty, great flavors, but also, there’s some similarities here and there, so it always felt welcoming and inviting,” Grant told Arab News
ALKHOBAR: Celebrated American chef Jerome Grant ventured to Dhahran on Thursday to teach Saudi culinary students about a dish close to his heart. As a culinary diplomat, Grant visited ZADK Culinary Academy to break bread, learn about Saudi cuisine, and provide a bit of his homeland on a plate.
Grant was joined on the visit by James Sindle, US consul-general in Dhahran.
“It’s my first visit to Saudi. The food has been great, super tasty, great flavors, but also, there’s some similarities here and there, so it always felt welcoming and inviting,” Grant told Arab News.
“I think food is a great tool that connects us as people and human beings. We could all be all different walks of life, different cultures, different religions, but the connection at our dinner table in our food, I believe, is what helps with a lot of the communication.”
Before owning his current BBQ joint, Grant led the revolution in museum dining, landing him three James Beard nominations. Grant uses recipes that highlight the richness of his multi-cultural heritage — he is half Filipino, half Jamaican, and resides in the US — and each part of his story is steeped in playful flavor. In 2019, he was named one of the “16 Black chefs changing food in America” by the New York Times and was nominated that same year for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic and Best American Cookbook. In 2017, his restaurant was on the James Beard Foundation’s list of Best New Restaurants.
Sindle was elated to swap his suit jacket and tie for a ZADK apron and was immediately put on tomato-peeling duty.
“It was absolutely lovely. It was nice to see the exchange between a US food diplomat and the students learning the culinary arts and having an opportunity to share a little bit about American culinary tradition. It’s not just about hamburgers and hotdogs,” Sindle said with a laugh.
The students at ZADK were curious, attentive, passionate and overjoyed at cooking with Grant. At the end of the cooking demonstration, each took a spoon and scraped a bite. Some students compared the creamy grits to the popular milky Hijazi dish, saleeg. Grant stood around answering questions and taking selfies with the budding chefs.
“As a graduate ... from ZADK, I had the opportunity to explore the chef life and explore the back of the house and now I’m exploring the opportunity to be in front of the house,” Saudi chef Esmaeel Bukhamseen told Arab News.
“It was honestly an amazing thing. The students had good questions. I’m very proud of them. They’re asking the right questions to the chef. The chef himself was impressed with their knowledge and was learning a lot of things from the students and the students were learning from him. I honestly encourage that we have such visits more often,” he continued.
“(It was) just a great honor for me to sit with such personalities and to showcase what it is being a Saudi chef.”
Bukhamseen is the epitome of the ZADK success story. First enrolled as a student, then hired to work with the team overseeing the new batch of students, he has seen both sides of the culinary experience and empathizes with the mission that Rania Moualla, founder of ZADK, has been amplifying.
Moualla, who was present during the visit, walked the US envoy through her journey. As the founder of the first non-profit culinary academy to offer a Saudi-centric curriculum, ZADK — whose name derives from the Arabic word “zad,” which alludes to Arab generosity and food for travel — combines a revolutionary concept with a humble mission. In just five years, it has established itself as an important part of the culinary sector in the region.
ZADK’s mission was to be situated strategically at their flagship location, further turning the Eastern Province into a culinary and cultural hub. About 50 percent of the academy’s students are from the area and the rest come from other parts of the Kingdom. Everyone at ZADK is actively exploring Saudi cuisine — merging medleys of traditional Saudi flavors from their families and adding their own innovative twists — to help feed the community and the world at large.
“Our best memories always are about the food,” Moualla told Arab News. “When we’re sharing a meal with somebody we love, actually it’s building memories, and we are what we are now because of those memories.”
Saudi students win 9 special awards at ISEF 2024 in US
- Saudi team also hopeful to win grand prizes tonight
- The Saudi Science and Engineering team now holds 50 prizes
RIYADH: For the 18th year in a row, students from Saudi Arabia participating in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair have won nine special awards.
The fair, being held in Los Angeles in the US, was sponsored by the King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity, or Mawhiba, and the Ministry of Education.
The special awards were won by Jamal Mohammed Al-Luqmani in materials science, Elias Maho Khan in biomedicine and health sciences, Layan Al-Qarafi in software systems, Areej bint Abdullah Al-Qarni, won two special awards in the field of materials science, Fatima Al-Shakhs in environmental engineering, Lana Al-Mazrouei in cellular and molecular biology, Abeer Al-Yousef in chemistry, and Saleh Al-Anqari in chemistry.
Mawhiba’s Secretary-General Dr. Amal bint Abdullah Al-Hazzaa said that this victory reflects the combined efforts and complementary relationship between Mawhiba, the Ministry of Education, and their strategic partners in achieving the goals and initiatives of the Saudi Vision 2030.
She praised the results and fruits of this partnership, highlighting the numerous achievements at the international level and the representation of the Kingdom in a manner worthy of its global status.
The Saudi Science and Engineering team now holds 50 prizes from the special awards presented by various companies during their participation in the ISEF.
The results of the grand prizes are expected to be announced on Friday evening, when the Saudi team is hopeful to win more accolades.
Regeneron ISEF 2024, the world’s largest pre-college STEM competition, taking place from May 11-17 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The ISEF is an annual science fair in the US. It is owned and administered by the Society for Science, a 501 non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C.
Saudi officials working round the clock to assist Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims
- Makkah Route facilities in Dhaka were inspected by Saudi Arabia’s deputy interior minister
- More than 25,500 Bangladeshi pilgrims have departed for Hajj since last week
DHAKA: Saudi officers are working round the clock to offer smooth immigration to thousands of Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims under the Kingdom’s Makkah Route initiative, authorities in Dhaka said on Friday.
Most of the pilgrims are departing from Dhaka under the flagship pre-travel program, which was launched by the Kingdom in 2019 to help pilgrims meet all the visa, customs and health requirements at their airport of origin and save them long hours of waiting before and upon arrival in Saudi Arabia.
Makkah Route preparations and facilities at the Dhaka airport were inspected this week by Saudi Deputy Interior Minister Nasser bin Abdulaziz Al-Dawood, as Saudi officers arrived in Bangladesh to facilitate the journey for pilgrims.
“The officials who arrived for the immigration process are facilitating the (journey for) pilgrims rigorously and religiously. A team of around 150 Saudi officials is offering them assistance round the clock,” Mohammed Kamruzzaman, director of Bangladesh’s Hajj Office, told Arab News.
“All our Hajj agencies and relevant stakeholders also appreciate the e-Hajj management. They are getting services beyond their expectations as immigration formalities are being completed very smoothly.”
This year, the Hajj is expected to start on June 14 and end on June 19. While the pilgrimage itself can be performed over five or six days, pilgrims often arrive early, knowing that it may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fulfill their religious duty.
“This year’s Makkah Route operations in Dhaka are running very smoothly. We complete the pilgrims’ Bangladeshi immigration part at the Ashkona Hajj camp near the airport, and the Saudi immigration part is being done at the airport in the shortest possible time. This arrangement amazed the pilgrims and is beyond their expectations,” Kamruzzaman said.
“It’s taking even less time for the completion of the Saudi immigration, which became possible due to introducing upgraded equipment.”
Saudi Arabia granted Bangladesh a quota of 127,000 pilgrims to perform the spiritual journey that is one of the five pillars of Islam. The Hajj flights from Dhaka began last week.
“Till Friday, 25,559 pilgrims have traveled to the Kingdom on 66 flights,” Kamruzzaman said.
“We are maintaining excellent coordination between the e-Hajj management of Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia. Due to these smooth operations, our pilgrims expressed their heartfelt gratitude to the Saudi authorities.”
